CD Reviews

An Work Of Astonishingly High Quality

J. Reynolds | Houston, TX United States | 02/03/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I did not like the first song on this CD, it simply did not grab me. Okay, that's out of the way.I agree with the reviewer below, the Higher Order of Magnitude comments. The rest of the songs on this CD are all compositions of extraordinarily high quality. While C!B!B! is lightly attractive as pleasant back-ground ear candy in ordinary social circumstances, closer examination of the lyrics and deeper listening to the music reveal fantastic contemporary poetry and magnificent accompanying music.This man Per Gessle is a living muse. The simplicity-yet-depth of his verbal expression -- for example, "been holding on too long - to long," which is NOT mere repetition -- is unbelievably thoughtful and subtle. That particular song, in fact, "What's She Like," conveys the impression of intense pain and regret. My first thought was that a woman with remarkable powers of expression had composed it, casting into words her feelings after being rejected by a lover... and I was startled to see that Gessle wrote that song (and then I saw that he wrote the words/music for all the others too).Sit down with this CD, and read the words while playing the songs, and you will be captivated. Ask yourself what process brought these compositionss into being -- consider what sort of thinking creates art like this. You will realize you cannot do it yourself, you will understand that this individual has a tremendous gift.I am not generally familiar with Roxette, much less am I friends with the band members (which would prompt artificial promotional flattery). NO, my appraisal of this work is completely honest -- I think "Crash! Boom! Bang!" constitutes an absolutely superlative set of songs, and I vigorously recommend it to anyone who appreciates true poetic/musical art. Per Gessle's composition talent is of the highest quality -- and Marie's fantastic vocals definitely bring it all to life. This music is the best. Enjoy."

Let it Crash! Boom! Bang! in your CD player

RockNRoll | Hungary | 03/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a fan of Roxette for several years now, and this is, without doubt, one of their best works. Let's see a song-by-song description of it:1. Harleys & Indians: a kinda weak song to start the album, but it's funny, it might grow on you quite well. 6/10
2. Crash! Boom! Bang!: probly my absolute fav Roxtune of all time. Marie's voice is so full of emotions, the instrumentation is perfect, the songwriting is excellent. An all-time classic for me. 10/10
3. Fireworks: a very catchy upbeat song, with lots of fun in the lyrics and great background vocals. I think it isn't weak to be a single, it's always been doing fine by me. 9/10
4. Run to You: a very romantic typical Roxette-ish song with strings arrangement and, again, Marie's incredible singing (which is true throughout the album). 8/10
5. Sleeping in My Car: perhaps the heaviest rocker in Roxette history, constantly played on the radios. It blows you away, so powerful and rocking. Easy 10/10. 6. Vulnerable: nice song, but way too sappy for me. The strings sound good, though, and the whistling at the end is lovely. 6/10
7. First Girl on the Moon: very enjoyable little tune, Per and Marie's voice match perfectly, the harmonica adds a good folky feeling to it. 9/10
8. Place Your Love: one of my favs on this album, a wonderful acoustic piece with winds arrangement. 10/10
9. I Love the Sound of Crashing Guitars: good rocker tune, good guitars (well, the title speaks for itself) 8/10
10. What's She Like?: it's a kinda upbeat, but still painful and sad song. 7/10
11. Do You Wanna Go the Whole Way?: good upbeat song with incredibly catch strings, nice acoustic interlude by Per. 9/10
12. Lies: a very fun song with some good ironic lyrics. 7/10
13. I'm Sorry: a typically '90s sounding ballad. It gets a lot of praise from other Roxfans, with my agreement. Roxette also recorded it on the album of their best ballads sung in Spanish (just to show how really great this song is). 9/10
14. Love Is All (Shine Your Light on Me): a soaring hymn to love, with some experimental features not so often used in popular music. Probly their longest song. 8/10
15. Go to Sleep: a good way to finish this great work of up to par pop-rock music. Beautiful ballad, can be taken as a lullaby as well. 9/10"

A Higher Order of Magnitude

J. Reynolds | Houston, TX United States | 06/05/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great album, simply terrific. The songs are catchy without being trite, there are some fine serious pieces here, and plenty of edgy rock to keep your blood flowing.I know very, very little about Roxette... which I initally thought was the female vocalist's name (a mistake everyone makes, probably). The impression I get from Roxette's music is that this pair is similar to a thousand couples-bands throughout the world. The last one I saw live was a young husband/wife team performing in a resort lobby during happy hour; the one before that in a Ramada Inn dining room, during supper. They were backed by a synthesizer providing drumbeat and various instruments, while the vocalists both played guitars and/or keyboards, creating the effect of a band with several musicians. They sang lovely songs and rock songs, anything the customers wanted to hear -- some old stuff, and some original stuff. Both of the couple-groups I heard sounded almost the same. Much of their stuff was, in the final analysis, background music.Roxette, though, broke away from that, and in a HUGE way. They are that Ramada Inn couple in many ways, but they found the key to vaulting upward to a much higher order of magnitude, and their music is original, striking and fantastic.I received "Crash! Boom! Bang!" from a good friend, and I will always be extremely grateful to her for introducing me to Roxette. This one is definitely a keeper."

Not as uniform as Joyride or Have A Nice Day, but a great al

Kasper Michelsen | Copenhagen, Denmark. | 04/12/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"While this album does not quite achieve the overall high standards of Joyride - it's never bad, but there are some songs that are so-and-so, like Harleys & Indians, Vulnerable and I Love The Sound Of Crashing Guitars - overall, this is an excellent pop album, and if you like Roxette, you will not be dissapointed. I still think Joyride and Have A Nice Day are better albums, but if you have those and are thirsty for more, don't let the poor sales of this album hold you back, because it desserved much better.

Highlights would deffinitely be the amazing title track - the best song the group ever did? - the mid-tempo pop/rock ballad of Run To You, the acoustic duo of The First Girl On The Moon and Place Your Love and the lush pop-songs What's She Like? and Go To Sleep.

The uptempo singles Sleeping In My Car and Fireworks and the ballad I'm Sorry are also among the better songs here, and while I think Love Is All (Shine Your Light On Me) perhaps takes on a bit more than it can actually bear with it's 6.41 running time, it's still a fine track, and a daring move.

Do You Wanna Go The Whole Way? and Lies have an undeniable hit quality, but is not the best works of the group, and as I said, Healeys and Indians and I Love The Sound Of Crashing Guitars was probably the closest the group got to being mediocre - without quite being it, though. Also Vulnerable might seem a tad overproduced, but still manages to go home as a fair balad.

Crash!Boom!Bang! is not quite the masterpiece of Joyride and Have A Nice Day, but it's very good, and contain a lot of excellent pop songs. Recommended to everyone who know and like the band.

OVERALL RATING: 8/10."

Another of My First CDs

naia-chan | USA | 10/24/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I asked for this on a birthday wish list shortly after I got my first CD player. This is definitely one of their best CDs. Especially great are the title song, "Run to You", "Love Is All" (sounds like a spiritual song, very pretty), and "Go to Sleep". Even some of the uptempo songs are good, like "Sleeping in My Car" and "Lies". On a totally off-music note, I love the giant checherboard theme of the cover!"